Ching Ming Festival
by DragonMage
Summary: 5x2. Wufei's acting strange and Duo's worried over why. Then he overheard a phone conversation. Who is this girl Wufei's sending flowers to and why?


Ching Ming Festival  
By: DragonMage  
  
Pairings: 5x2 or 5+2...*sweatdrop* I don't know...After all this time I still haven't gotten these things straightened out.  
  
Warnings: None that I can of...Ah...after EW  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the GWing boys or anything else  
  
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April 3rd...  
Duo Maxwell-Chang frowned as he watched his husband Maxwell-Chang Wufei [1] stare off at nothing. His husband had been like this for a very long time. In fact, it had been a week since he had seen Wufei be...well, Wufei. Sure, Wufei had been a pretty quiet guy during the war but never this silent. And never with such sadness surrounding him. What was wrong? Why didn't Wufei tell him what was wrong? They loved each other, didn't they? Wufei knew he could open up to him. If so, why didn't he?  
  
"Wufei, what's wrong?" Duo asked as he walked over to his husband and stood beside Wufei at the window.   
  
"Nothing's wrong, Duo," Wufei said, shaking his head.   
  
"Of course something's wrong. You've been...distant lately, Wufei. What's wrong? I'm your husband, please tell me," Duo pleaded as he reached out and brushed Wufei's hair back from his face. It had taken a while but he had managed to convince Wufei to leave his hair down from now on. The war wasn't going on anymore and Wufei didn't need to be like the person he was during those times, but rather like the person he was before the war. The scholar, the gentle, romantic man Duo had learned was hidden behind the mask of coldness and demands of justice. He remembered when he had first seen Wufei be the real Wufei. And how did he know that person had been the real Wufei? Because the real Wufei actually smiled. The real Wufei cried. That was when he had fallen deeply and undeniably in love with the fey Chinese man.   
  
"I know, Duo. But...It's nothing. Let's go to bed. I'm tired," Wufei said quietly as he moved away and towards the bed.   
  
Duo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He's just going through some problems. We all did after the war when we had time to think...When the war wasn't pushing back the thoughts, the nightmares. This is normal. He opened his eyes and looked over to Wufei who was taking off his shirt and slowly getting into bed. I hope. Please, God, don't let him fall out of love with me. I won't be able to take it if that happened. I love him too much.  
  
~*~  
April 4th...  
Wufei picked up the phone and quickly dialed the number to the local florist. He waited patiently for the phone to be picked up. While he waited he thought about last night. Duo had been very worried about him. And sad. He hadn't meant to hurt Duo by behaving the way he was but he had his reasons. When everything was over he would tell Duo everything, and then things will be okay again.   
  
"Hello, Beautiful Flowers," a cheery voice said over the line.  
  
"Hello, my name is Maxwell-Chang Wufei and I'd like to place an order," Wufei said briskly as he thought about her favorite flowers.   
  
"Wonderful, Mr. Chang. We have an assortment of flowers. Just tell us what you want," the girl said happily.   
  
"I'd like to have a bouquet of purple orchids, please," Wufei said, smiling as he remembered how much she loved them. He had picked them for her once and he never forgot the expression on her face when she had seen them; it was pure happiness and delight.   
  
"Great! And when will you pick them up? Or do you want them to be sent?" the girl asked.   
  
"Oh, I'd rather take it to her personally, please," Wufei said. "And can you have a note with it, please?"   
  
"Sure! What do you want it to say?"  
.....  
Duo walked into the kitchen and grinned when he saw Wufei standing in there with the phone in his hand. His back was turned to Duo and he looked completely relaxed. He was about to greet his husband when Wufei said something that stopped him.   
  
"...I want it to say 'I'll always love you forever, Mei-Mei. Signed Fei," Wufei was saying. "Yes...yes, that's it. And have it in gold ink, please. She always did love gold ink. And if you can, is it possible to have it in Chinese? .... It can? Wonderful, please do that."   
  
Duo bit his lower lip and swallowed hard as he quickly turned around and quickly walked away. He didn't want to hear anything else. When he was near his and Wufei's room, he broke into a run and slammed the door behind him. Then he fell on the bed and laid there for a moment. After a moment he closed his eyes and cried.   
  
He doesn't love me anymore...He loves another.  
  
~*~  
Later that night...  
Wufei had noticed Duo acting strangely after he hung up the phone and started making lunch. In fact, Duo hadn't come downstairs since Wufei knocked on the door and asked what he wanted for lunch. The usually bottomless pit American always wanted to eat but today Duo had said he wasn't hungry. It was right then and there Wufei knew something was wrong but it had been getting late he had a class in the late afternoon at the University. He couldn't stay and bribe Duo out of his room to ask him what was wrong.   
  
He had came home around 6 o'clock to find the whole house dark and Duo was nowhere in sight. He had gone ahead and made dinner--every single dish was something Duo liked--and waited to Duo to come home. When the door finally opened Duo had been silent and ignored him except for a sharp 'hello' and 'good night' before the American disappeared upstairs. Wufei had to eat dinner alone and put away the leftovers for tomorrow night.   
  
Now Wufei sat downstairs on the couch, wondering what was wrong with Duo. Did I do something wrong? What happened? I don't think I've done anything wrong today except be a little more quiet than usual...What's wrong?? He clutched the soft couch pillow close and frowned worriedly as he bit his lower lip and tried to think of some reason why Duo would be acting like this. Sure, the American was prone to being moody when he was working too much but it never lasted and it was never like this. Before Wufei always knew Duo was going to forgive him for being a workaholic. This time he had no idea what was wrong and he didn't know if Duo was going to speak to him ever again.  
  
I couldn't have possibly did something wrong...Could I? I should go up there and talk to Duo. It's the only way I can find out what's wrong, Wufei decided as he stood up and dropped his pillow. He made his way to the stairs and slowly walked up them, not making a single sound. He neared his door and was about to open the door when sounds from inside stopped him.   
  
It took him a while to register the sound but when he did he was shocked at what he heard.   
  
Duo was crying.   
  
Wufei couldn't breathe as pain constricted his chest. His love was crying. Duo was crying!!   
  
Immediately Wufei knocked on the door. "Duo! Duo what's wrong?"   
  
"Wufei?"   
  
"Duo," Wufei called back as he tried to turn the knob. It was locked. "Duo, open the door."   
  
"Go away!"   
  
Wufei breathed in sharply. "Duo!"   
  
"Just go away! I don't feel like talking to you at the moment," was Duo's choked order.   
  
"Duo, tell me what's wrong! What did I do?" Wufei demanded desperately. He didn't want Duo hurting himself. He still couldn't forget the scars on Duo's arm from the times when the American had taken too much for his mental stability to handle. They all had.   
  
"Go away!! How many times do I have to tell you?" Duo screamed. "I don't want to see or talk to you right now!"   
  
It's because I've been ignoring him. I haven't been telling him everything, Wufei realized. I have to tell him...the truth. I guess they're gonna have to meet sooner than I thought.   
  
"Just go to your new girlfriend!" Duo shouted once more before there was a loud bang and something shattered.   
  
New girlfriend?!   
  
"Duo!! Open this door now! I don't want to replace another door," Wufei shouted threateningly. When there was no reply he backed up a bit and raised his right leg, ready to kick in the door when it was flung open. He immediately lowered his leg and took in his husband's current condition. There were wet stains on Duo's cheek and his nose and cheeks had blotches of red on them. His clothes were wrinkled and he looked tired. Overall, he looked like shit.   
  
"Duo," he whispered heart brokenly as he moved forward to take Duo in his arms.   
  
"Stay away from me," Duo whispered.  
  
"You know about Mei-Mei," Wufei began.   
  
"Yes, I know about her! I can't believe you, Wufei! We've been married for only a little while and you already..." Duo shook his head and tried to push past Wufei but the Chinese man caught Duo and held him.   
  
"Duo, Duo listen to me," Wufei begged as he tried to catch Duo's violet eyes and look him straight in the eye. "Please, Duo, please. I'm begging you to listen to me. Don't...I have so many scars I haven't showed you yet."   
  
"What are you talking about?" Duo asked hoarsely.   
  
"Why don't we sit down and I tell you?" Wufei suggested. "In the bedroom. Is that okay?"   
  
"Sure," Duo said dully as he followed Wufei into the room and sat down on their queen-size bed.  
  
Wufei closed the door behind him and tried to phrase his words the way he wanted them to come out. He had never been good at talking, especially when it came to emotions and his past. It always came out as a mess. But if he wanted to make Duo understand he had to get this right. He couldn't have Duo thinking he was cheating on him. He loved Duo too much to do that. He saw no one else in his life, only Duo. And Mei-Mei. But Me-Mei was different.   
  
"Who's Mei-Mei?" Duo asked abruptly.   
  
Wufei blinked. He must have heard the conversation I was having with the florist. Damn, so this is how it all started. He cleared his throat and walked slowly over to Duo.   
  
"She was my wife," he said. Immediately he wanted to beat himself up. Not good, Chang! Not good!  
  
Duo's eyes widened, filled with pain and shock.   
  
"No, no--" Wufei began in almost a panic.   
  
"Your wife?! You're married to someone else besides me?" Duo shouted angrily as he leaped to his feet.  
  
"Duo--"   
  
"How could you?" Duo demanded. He tried to punch Wufei but the Chinese man moved quickly and dodged the blow. He knew that if he got hit it would almost be as bad as Heero Yuy hitting him. Duo knew how to brawl and he was good at it; street fighting, if he could remember what Duo called it. Heck, he remembered every single word Duo had ever said to him.   
  
"It was an arranged marriage! Duo, calm down," Wufei pleaded as he grabbed Duo and tried to control his husband. In the end they fell onto the bed, with Wufei on top and pinning Duo down with all his strength. Gods, why did Americans have to be so goddamn strong? Must be all the beef they eat.  
  
"Get off me!" Duo shouted.   
  
"Duo! Duo, calm down! Duo, I love you. Please hear me out," Wufei pleaded. He almost was pushed off but he managed to catch his balance and put all his weight on his husband--which wasn't much but it managed to do it. Duo calmed down and then went still beneath him.   
  
"What do you have to say to me?" Duo asked between clenched teeth.   
  
"When I was 13 years old--two years before we entered the war--I was married to a girl named Ron Meiran, heir to the Dragon Clan which then made me leader of the Dragon Clan. She was my wife and I used to call her Mei-Mei," Wufei explained as briefly as possible. Before Duo could say a thing he pushed forward, almost relieved to get it all out and to have Duo know. "She died defending our colony, protecting the flower field she loved so much. She was buried on L5. After the war I managed to have her grave moved down to Earth instead of being on that torn colony. Tomorrow is the Ching Ming Festival. The Day of the Dead. I was ordering flowers to put on her grave. Duo, I was never cheating on you. Never. I would never do that. I love you too much to do that to you, Duo. You have to believe me!"  
  
Duo was crying.   
  
"Duo..."   
  
"So...You're still in love with me? Meiran is dead?" Duo asked through his tears.   
  
"Yes," Wufei whispered, feeling relief spread through him. "Yes, I still love you and yes Meiran is dead. Duo, you aren't mad at me are you?"   
  
Duo shook his head and continued to cry. "Why should I be mad at you? I was the one who was freaking out! You should be mad at me..."   
  
"Never. I would only be mad at you if you do stupid things like hurting yourself or burning my books," Wufei said, smiling as he wiped away Duo's tears, even though they kept on coming. He leaned over and kissed Duo, tasting the salty tears on his lips. "Gods, Duo, I wouldn't dream of hurting you. I'm so sorry I've been difficult the past few days. It's just that...the Ching Ming Festival just got me remembering things before the war. I'm so sorry, Duo."  
  
"Aw, don't be," Duo said shakily as he wiped away his tears and scrubbed his face. "And here...I thought you actually stopped loving me. You can't do that, right Wufei? I'm too lovable."   
  
"Much too lovable," Wufei agreed as he moved off Duo and pulled his husband into his arms and held him fiercely. He kissed Duo harshly and held him tight, pressing his cheek to Duo's forehead. "I love you, Duo."   
  
Duo relaxed against Wufei and closed his eyes. Soon, he was asleep.   
  
Wufei kissed Duo on the forehead and slowly lowered his husband down onto the bed. Then he quickly changed and washed before slipping into bed with him. He pulled Duo close and smiled when he felt Duo curl instinctively against him. Tomorrow, Duo, you'll see Mei-Mei. And afterwards, everything will be okay. It's time I let go.  
  
~*~  
April 5th...The Ching Ming Festival...  
Duo followed Wufei out of the car and they quietly walked through the black iron gates of the Chinese cemetery. They walked through the grass, passing all sorts of headstones with Chinese and English etched into the stone. They finally reached one grave that was set underneath a shading tree with the flower blossoms from the tree scattered peacefully around it.   
  
Wufei was carrying the bouquet of flowers he had ordered yesterday and Duo carried a single rose. They stood before the grave solemnly before Wufei bent and placed the bouquet in front of the stone. Then Duo followed his actions.   
  
They were silent for a moment before Wufei began to talk.   
  
"Hello, Mei-Mei. It seems it's been another year since...since everything," he said softly. "I miss you, I guess I always will--no matter what kind of hell you put me through while we were married and you were alive. I love you, little sister. I hope you rest in peace now that your cause has been fought and won."   
  
Duo took a deep breath after Wufei finished speaking, knowing he had to say something. "Hey, Meiran. I know we've never met but I'm married to your husband now. What do you think of that? I bet you were a cool girl...I would have loved to meet you but that's kinda hard right now, isn't it?"   
  
Wufei jabbed Duo in the side with his elbow and smiled at his husband, shaking his head. Duo merely smiled back. Then he turned his head back to Meiran's grave.   
  
"You probably did something really good because Wufei turned out great, you know? He told me a little about what you guys used to do." Duo stopped, not sure what to say anymore. "I guess that's about it."   
  
"Come on, Duo, let's go home," Wufei finally said, wrapping his arm around Duo's shoulder. They turned and walked away from the grave, the wind whipping around them and picking up the fallen tree blossoms, ruffling the flowers that had just been laid on Ron Meiran's grave.   
  
When the two men were gone a young girl suddenly appeared beside the grave. Her black hair was done up in childish pigtails and she was dressed in traditional white robes with matching white slippers. She bent down and picked up the rose, bringing it to her nose and breathing its light scent. "Good luck, you two. And Duo...Don't worry, Wufei will always love you." Then she disappeared, the rose and purple bouquet going with her. All that was left was a swirl of the fallen blossoms and the faint scent of orchids.  
  
~*~  
Later that night...  
Duo was resting his head on Wufei's chest, listening to Wufei's slow, steady heartbeats. He played with the drawstrings of Wufei's pants and hummed quietly to himself.   
  
"What are you thinking of?" Wufei asked as he took off his glasses and placed them with his book on top of the nightstand.   
  
"Oh...everything," Duo said vaguely.  
  
"Everything? That's a lot," Wufei said teasingly. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"   
  
Duo propped his chin on Wufei's chest and LOOKED at Wufei. "You know, now I know why Meiran was always on your case."   
  
"Really?" Wufei asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"Really."   
  
Wufei smiled and brushed his thumb across Duo's smooth cheek. "So, what was it you were thinking about?"   
  
"I was just worried," Duo began, turning red suddenly at his stupid worries.   
  
"About?"   
  
Duo glared at Wufei. "You're going to make this hard for me, aren't you?"   
  
Wufei grinned before taking on a more serious expression. "You have my heart in a way Meiran has never had it, Duo. I loved Meiran as a little sister, and that was the only way I have ever loved her. She was always the annoying one who always bothered me and tried to follow me when I went out with my friends back on the colony. But that was it. We were...pressured to do other things but it would have never worked out."   
  
"So...Everything is okay?"   
  
"Of course," Wufei said firmly. He pulled Duo close and kissed him tenderly. "You're my world, Duo."   
  
"Good. Because I want to keep it that way," Duo said, grinning as he rested against Wufei.   
  
Wufei laughed and rested his cheek on the top of Duo's head. "Let's go to sleep, lover."   
  
"Good idea. I'm tired," Duo said, yawning to emphasize his point. Then he closed his eyes and drifted off.   
  
Smiling, Wufei soon followed his husband into the dream realm.   
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Ah...Soo...What do you think? This was the product of a Sister Sister episode I remembered seeing a long time ago and reading a fic that had to do with the Ching Ming Festival a while ago as well. Well...I asked my mom about it and she said it was the Day of the Dead but in the other fic it was suppose to be a happy day. o.O;; So, ah, it got me writing.   
  
[1] I couldn't decide what order to put their names so I just alternated! *beams*   
  
  
Started and Finished: February 10, 2001  



End file.
